Premiers have 'constructive' meeting at White House as they lobby against tariffs
B.C.'s Eby says premiers were urged to take Trump at his word
White House official says he 'never agreed' Canada won't be 51st state in meeting with premiers
Premiers hail 'constructive' meeting as they lobby against tariffs
A team of Canada's premiers met with senior White House officials on Wednesday as they continue to make the case against tariffs on Canadian goods.
When asked, B.C. Premier David Eby told reporters outside the White House that the premiers had raised concerns about U.S. President Donald Trump's claims that Canada should join the U.S.
"We had frank conversations about the 51st state comment where we underlined that was a non-starter," he said.
While P.E.I. Premier Dennis King and Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston had to leave early due to weather concerns, the remaining premiers met with James Blair — Trump's deputy chief of staff for legislative affairs — and Sergio Gor — Trump's director of personnel.
Blair posted on social media that his meeting with the premiers was "pleasant" but also said he "never agreed that Canada would not be the 51st state."
"We only agreed to share Premier Eby's comments," Blair wrote.
Eby and other premiers described the meeting fairly positively.
"It was a good conversation. I thought it was constructive," Eby said.
"They urged us to take the president at his word."
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Yukon Premier Ranj Pillai toldCBC News Network's Power & Politics that he shared Eby's sentiments.
"There's no Canada becoming the 51st state. President Trump is not going to own Canada, but he also certainly doesn't want to own inflation — and all the tariffs will lead to that," he told guest host Catherine Cullen.
Pillai said that Trump's aim seems to be "resetting relationships globally."
"[The American] people want to feel like America is winning. They want to feel that this president is going to lead that charge and he wants to fulfil that," Pillai told guest host Catherine Cullen after leaving the White House.
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Premiers describe ‘constructive’ meeting with Trump officials in WashingtonTrump signed executive orders on Monday that will impose 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports — including from Canada — starting March 12.
Those tariffs would stack on top of 25 per cent tariffs that Trump has been threatening to impose on most Canadian goods. Those tariffs were set to come into force last week, but Ottawa reached an agreement with the Trump administration to delay their implementation until at least March 4.
Trump has shifted back and forth on his reasoning for the March 4 tariffs, though one of his common complaints is about fentanyl entering the U.S. from Canada and Mexico. Trump's Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick suggested during his confirmation hearing that the tariff threat on those two countries is meant to spur action at the shared borders.
"When [the president] talks about his concerns about the border, about issues of fentanyl — the need for us to work on those things — [his advisers told us] that we should take that very seriously," Eby said after the leaving the White House
Despite U.S. data showing that the amount of fentanyl entering the U.S. from the north is a fraction compared to the amount crossing in from the southern boundary, Ottawa has shown a willingness to engage the administration on the issue
The federal government has committed $1.3 billion to boost border security and on Tuesday named former Mountie Kevin Brosseau as a new fentanyl czar.
Eby said those measures "had caught the president's attention," but that "work needed to continue."
Pillai said he thinks there is a path for Canada to avoid Trump's tariffs.
"You're dealing with someone who is a dealmaker and somebody who is always open for negotiation. So you have to be swift in preparing for that," he said.
"If you're essentially sitting down and you're trying to cut the pie up differently with this president, you know he's going to want the biggest piece — if not all the pieces — so you better figure out what the next pie looks like."
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Premiers speak with CBC News outside White House ahead of meeting with officialsOn her way into the White House, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said the premiers would be making the case that Canada is cracking down on fentanyl.
"We recognize that fentanyl's a problem for us too and we're doing everything we can to stomp it out in our communities," she said.
When asked what a win for the premiers would look like, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said "no tariffs."
"We're a great friend of America and Canadians are very proud of the relationship we've had over the years and so we're here as Team Canada," he said.
Federal Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc, who is also in Washington, met with Lutnick and other officials on Wednesday.
"I told them clearly that Canadians have become quite emotional in the last number of weeks and quite united in terms of doing what's necessary to avoid this punitive impact on our economy," LeBlanc told reporters.
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LeBlanc details ‘constructive and positive conversation’ with top U.S. trade officials"We have work to do with the government to continue to make that point, but I certainly raised with them the solidarity that we've seen across the country in terms of meeting this moment in a way that protects the sovereignty of Canada and protects our economic interests.".
LeBlanc said Wednesday that he brought up the recent actions Ottawa has taken on the border in his meeting with Lutnick.
"We believe that the national security interest around border integrity and the common fight against fentanyl is in a positive lane, but we're going to continue to do that work," he said.
LeBlanc also said he stressed to Lutnick that impacts from steel and aluminum tariffs would be felt on both sides of the border.
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With files from Katie Simpson and Kate McKenna
U.S. congressman says 'Canada has a lot of allies' in tariff fight | Power & Politics
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CBC News Tariff anxieties in Washington cross both sides of U.S. political spectrum, says Holt
N.B. premier hopes Republicans' concerns can help the fight against Trump's tariff threat
New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt says meetings this week in Washington, D.C., have shown her there's widespread opposition to potential U.S. tariffs, and it's coming from both sides of the political spectrum.
Holt has been in the U.S. capital alongside Canada's 12 other premiers, hoping to back the administration down from President Donald Trump's threats to impose crippling tariffs on Canadian imports.
Holt said she's met with lawmakers from several states, including North Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa and Maine, and heard concerns expressed even among Republicans about Trump's tariff threats.
"We haven't met with someone in support of the tariffs," Holt said, speaking to reporters Wednesday afternoon from Washington.
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Holt in Washington: ‘We haven’t met with someone in support of the tariffs’"Everyone we have met with — Republican and Democrat alike — have recognized the damage that the tariffs will do in their state to their workers and to their economies."
Trump has said he plans to impose a universal 25 per cent tariff on all imports from Canada and Mexico starting next month, aside from energy products, which will be subject to a 10 per cent tariff.
He has promised a 25 per cent tariff starting March 12 on all steel and aluminum imports.
Holt said anti-tariff Republican lawmakers she's met with include Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who chairs the Senate appropriations committee.
In a Jan. 31 post on X, Collins said certain tariffs would "impose a significant burden" on families and businesses, adding she was working with the Trump administration to help its officials better understand the potential effects on Maine.
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Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine has openly opposed Trump's plan to impose tariffs on Canadian imports. (Jason Burles/CBC)
Holt said her hope is that concerns by Collins and other Republicans can make their way to the president and potentially push him to walk back his plans.
"[In] one of our very first meetings today, and actually [in] our conversation with a senator yesterday as well, they both said explicitly that they had already passed on messages to the administration about the impact [of tariffs] on businesses in their state," said Holt, who is to return to New Brunswick on Thursday afternoon.
"And so that's exactly the kind of thing that we are here to encourage, is folks expressing the real impact on the ground to Americans, to American jobs, to the economy."
Meeting with Trump advisers
Whether the advocacy by Holt and other premiers pays off could be learned Wednesday afternoon.
Council of the Federation spokesperson Paola St-George issued an email notice that the premiers had been invited to a meeting with senior Trump advisers that afternoon.
Holt's news conference was held prior to the start of that meeting, and she didn't know exactly which U.S. officials would be there.
"I think there's a number of senior officials that that we've been told may be participating," Holt said.
New Brunswick is not unlike other Canadian provinces when it comes to the importance of free trade south of the border.
Agriculture, seafood and forest products produced in New Brunswick have significant markets in the U.S., and Holt has said the tariffs could cost the province 4,000 to 6,000 jobs.
Holt said the delegation to Washington includes representatives from companies such as Mrs. Dunster's, Cooke Aquaculture, J.D. Irving Ltd., and industry representatives for potato and snow crab producers.
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Premiers have 'constructive' meeting at White House as they lobby against tariffs
B.C.'s Eby says premiers were urged to take Trump at his word